Decorating for Summer {Summer Tour of Homes}

Welcome! I'm so glad you are here! The Inspired Room was recently voted 2014 Readers' Favorite Decorating Blog by Better Homes & Garden's magazine! I love sharing simple decorating and organizing ideas to inspire you to love the home you have. For more inspiration, visit the inspiration galleries, the popular How to Decorate series and my own House Tour!

Be sure to subscribe for free to The Inspired Room! You'll receive new updates via your email inbox so you'll never miss a post! Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Welcome! I’m happy you stopped by! If it is your first time here, I am so glad you are here. Today I’m joining up with Gina from The Shabby Creek Cottage and her fun Summer Tour of Homes! You can find the entire line up of links at the end of the post. The sun has been out here and I’ve been LOVING life. That happens when the sun shines in Seattle :-). Actually, I feel like the NW is a hidden gem that people miss out on since they think it rains all the time. Shhhh, little do they know we have absolutely gorgeous usually mild weather and when it does rain, we are grateful because it is what makes everything so green and lush year around. So, enough small talk about the weather!! Let’s talk about summer decorating, shall we?

Ya’ll probably know if you’ve been here for awhile that I don’t decorate FOR the seasons much but rather I LOVE LOVE LOVE letting my home evolve WITH the seasons.

I love each season for different reasons. But summer is one of my favorites because of the light that streams through the windows and the pretty plants and flowers inside and out! I’m going to be planting more vines, trees and flowers because I love using them in the house, too. Our yard started out pretty barren since it was a brand new house without much landscaping (you can see my dream of a Secret Garden post here), so adding plants is one of the projects I’ve started working on recently! My budget and time is limited, but each little bit I do makes me happy.

The vine on my dining room console in that awesome glass jug (new flea market find!) is a stem from my Wisteria from the deck, it grows like crazy so I never mind cutting a branch to bring inside! My little brass animal family is hanging out here in the dining room for awhile. If you are wondering about the plate wall, you can find the post about how it randomly came together here and here. The curtains were made from old fabric I’ve had for ages.

My dining room is one of my favorite spaces in my home in all the seasons. It has come such a long way from the humble beginnings of ghastly flesh colored walls, awful brown carpet and the standard builder lighting five years ago. Every year it looks different. Actually, every month it seems to look different. Heheh.

While it has evolved slowly, I love adding a little bit to it every year. We just got new chairs for the heads of the table, but I’ll show more and talk about that in another post. :-)

**Update:Many have asked about where I got the light fixture in my dining room! It’s an outdoor lantern that I purchased it from Pottery Barn, here is the link!

I just can’t help myself. Quirky random animals have taken over my house. They just make me smile. The bunny is from Anthropologie…who clearly understands my love for quirky animals.

The family room wall I’ve been working on for years (right?) is coming together and I’m SO happy with it! The gallery wall is filled with so many happy travel memories it is perfect for summer dreaming. I love how it is perfectly set off now by the new shallow cabinet and our new glass lamps from HomeGoods! The clamshell bowl is from Wisteria.

This whole wall works so well to complement the style of our kitchen and family room, without shouting at me or calling too much attention to itself.

I’ll tell you more about the lamps in another post too, they were a great find!

I found that adorable little stool at Serena and Lily on sale over the Memorial Day weekend. I love the texture of the rustic wood and the fun white dipped legs are very cute too. It’s a perfect little table for a cup or book next to the chair!

You can’t come to my house without enjoying a little trip to the coffee station. It is a party all by itself in any season. And, I have way too much fun changing up how it looks. Somewhere I saw a branch hanging from brackets like this as a towel bar so when I saw this stick outside I thought WHY NOT! I’ll try it! It’s just a fun summery touch and actually very practical here too!

One of my favorite things each season is the fun I have changing colors around to suit my mood. I am smitten by fresh greens and teal blues right now. The more I add, the more I love it. The pitcher came from TJ Maxx and the cream and sugar set is Fiestaware from Macy’s.

Speaking of being amused and all the quirky animals that seem to find their way to our house, I found that whale plate at a shop I love over in Poulsbo called Modern Mercantile (near where I live). I was shopping with my daughter Courtney and we were discussing how the plate needed to be in our house and that even if we didn’t have room we would make room (because we can’t pass up any whales). We loved it because he was a serious classy whale, not a silly cartoon whale. Those are the kinds of random things we talk about when we shop. After we carried on for awhile about summer decorating and changing our home for the seasons (without mentioning blogging at all — just being our regular strange selves haha), the lady working at the counter did a double take realized she was a reader of my blog! Well, she knew she was a reader but didn’t know the blog was mine. That always takes me by surprise, to find anyone who reads my blog out in the real world!

I’m sure she will be happy to see where the whale plate ended up!

I still love my little chalkboard on the fridge. Sometimes we’ll put an inspiring little saying there. It is a great reminder that finding joy in every season and every day is a choice!

I’ve had these little anchor hooks sitting around my house for awhile and when I found the brass “captain” plaque a couple of weeks ago, I decided that they would be the perfect nautical touch for under our map wall in the hallway just outside my office. These little hooks are so fun for getting shopping bags or the dog leashes and harnesses up off the floor, or just for looking cute all by themselves! I found a similar captain plaque online and put one in my shop here, and also a set of cute gold nautical hooks here!

I found the cute frames at TJ Maxx the other day and the basket was from TJ Maxx a couple of years back.

The watercolor print in the blue frame is a free printable from Gina, our summer house tour host! It says ‘embrace the adventure.’ I love that! You can get your own free download of it here. And you can read about my little air plant and elephant here.

Since summer is ideally about being outside (especially since our weather is so lovely and not usually too hot like in many parts of the country), I spend a lot of time working in my yard or hanging out here on my front porch.

Your home looks so fresh and breezy. There are so many touches I love- the white plate wall, the “captain” plate and hooks, all the drapery, the fact that you can change out your pops of color and have your home feel different with the seasons…etc., etc. Fun tour!Nicki recently posted..Light & Fluffy Banana Bread

I love the collection of white serving plates you have on the dining room wall. It reminds me if my Grandmother’s style -white soft furnishings and accessories with dark wood everywhere! I also love your map wall -I have plans for something like that in my own dining room!

Melissa, I love how everything looks! My favorite, the whale platter, a touch of Nantucket for me. Love the clear lamps, especially your DIY jug lamp. Love the white and soft blues around, especially in the kitchen. Love the creamer and sugar set and pitcher. Especially special, the stick hanging from the corbels, that’s brilliant. I’m hoping it’s a bamboo stick because bamboo tries every year to take over our back yard, and now here’s something positive it can do! Your office is a dream. The house looks totally summery–so much to do with the plants and flowers you have inside, and the added amount of white, if I’m correct. The light coming in from outside–that gray, rainy outside–well, what a nice house to let it in!

Everything is just lovely! I am loving fresh greens and blues for summer, too. FIY, I tried going to Shabby Creek Cottages via your link and it didn’t work. Thanks for inviting us over!Alana in Canada recently posted..From the Weekend

As always your home is just lovely! I am a follower of all the participants on today’s tours – but it so great to see their homes all together – thanks for the inspiration – I love your coffee station!Cheryl recently posted..This Glorious Day!

I’m sighing and swooning over here! Your home is so stunning! It has so many beautiful elements and yet is so relaxed and welcoming at the same time which to me is the perfect combination. Speaking from a fellow Pacific NW gal I have to agree with you that we live in the best kept secret, right? ;-) I’m so thrilled and honored to be part of Gina’s tour with you today!

Oh I love your gorgeous area, I lived in the NW for years. Your home looks so bright and cheery and I love you added touches of color here and there. The porch is fabulous and would be where I would be all the time enjoying your fabulous weather.Marty recently posted..A Surprise Package At The Door

I love your summer home, Melissa! My favorite thing to do year round, but especially in the summer is bringing in fresh cuttings of greenery, just like your wisteria vine! We’re hoping to plant one of those soon. They’re gorgeous :)Lindsay recently posted..10 Summer Decorating Tips

LOVE! You are an inspiration to me. I just started a decorating blog a couple weeks ago and you are one of my main inspirations. I love your house. Everything is bright and fresh and fun! Love following you!

Light, bright, white, and wonderful! Melissa! So gorgeous! Every square inch is like living a dream. I love how you’ve utilized every square inch… thanks for the eye candy!Funky Junk Interiors recently posted..Make an old ladder garden arbour… in minutes!

Hi Melissa! Your summer tour is absolutely gorgeous and fun!! Love all your little attention to details! The branch across your coffee station is so simple but that’s what I love about your styling! Great job! Take care Kathy@The Daily NestKathy recently posted..Our Weekend Getaway To The Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes Orlando

The tour of homes sounds fun, I have only followed blog home tours at Christmas but I am definitely checking this summer tour out. About the only decorating I do in the summer is setting fruit and veggies in the kitchen windows for the sunlight or to bring in a bouquet of wildflowers or cut my flowers to put in a vase or jar.

it’s all so lovely Melissa, thanks for the ‘picture overload’…you know we love it! what a treat to see so many rooms in one post, you can really get an idea of the flow [which looks effortless, but I know you work super-hard on it always!]. great post!Cynthia recently posted..the great board & batten wall part 2 – tutorial

Hi Melissa, thanks again for sharing your home. Your use of unique things you love throughout your home is always inspiring.Your home and porch are so inviting that I feel like a close friend who could stop by with my empty coffee cup and we could sit and chat. Thank you!

Your home looks so lovely, Melissa, and it just looks so HAPPY in the summertime! I’m thinking that summer must be the most wonderful time to be in the Pacific Northwest. Southeast? Not so much. But we’re enjoying our early summer days!Richella Parham recently posted..Summer home tour 2014

Lady, your home is GORGEOUS. Seriously, such effortless and bright style. It is lovely, but still looks like a home meant to be lived in…love it always. I shouted out your tour today on the blog–happy weekend!
:-)
shaunna

Hi Melissa – my first time visiting and I love your home tour! I always like to look for new ideas as I too am big on seasonal changes at home (especially since a few of our rooms are so awkward that it’s impossible to move the furniture).

I’d love a tip — how do you store items when you change out seasonal decor? By color? By type of item? I just don’t have a good system for that and would love to hear what others do.

Your home is beautiful!!! I have gotten so much inspiration from looking through your pictures. So many ideas I am now ready to execute. I’m excited! :) I have one question… Where did you find your table runners? I looked through multiple posts and read the comments to see if the source was listed but I was unsuccessful. Thank you for sharing your home with us!!! I look forward to seeing more :)